Five Times
by Rosa241
Summary: Five times George walked in on Mark and Alex, and the one time that he didn't. WARNING: SLASH
1. Chapter 1

**Okay so I've never done one of these 5 + 1 things before but this idea popped into my head a while back and would not leave me alone.**

 **There aren't many Alex and Mark pairings out there and for some reason I really like the idea of these two together, whether that be in a romantic sense (like this one) or just some good old bromance, either way I think it's a friendship/romantic pairing that hasn't really been explored very well (either in the show or in fanfiction).**

 **Just to make this clear. This is in no way related to my other Grey's Anatomy story – Life for a life. This is a completely separate idea.**

 **Summary: Five times George walked in on Alex and Mark plus the one time he didn't. (Set in George's point of view)**

 **Five Times**

 **By Rosa241**

 **The first time I walk in on them it takes me by complete surprise.**

"Congratulations!" I can't help smiling as a drunken Meredith wraps her arms around me for what has to be the thousandth time tonight. It had been her idea to have a celebration party her way of showing her support I think for Callie and me. Whatever her reasons behind this she's at least trying which is more than I can say for Izzie. Truth be told she's had a face like a wet weekend all night.

"Thanks again Mer." She giggles at my words but my mind flashes back to Izzie's comments earlier. Why was she so rude to Callie? I know she's not the biggest fan of our relationship but that doesn't mean she gets to be so awful to her. Shaking my head I resolve to talk to her in the morning I know it hurt Callie that I never said anything to her about it earlier. She's my wife now I have to deal with this. She's probably just surprised that we got married so quickly, truth be told I'm kind of surprised myself but it's the right thing to do. It's right.

"George! Are you sure that you're happy?" Izzie's words dragged me out of my mind and it takes a moment for them to register. Shaking my head I find myself sighing. "I mean it's okay if you're not." She tags on.

"I'm sure. This is what I want, it's what **we** want." She forces a smile but I can tell that she's not happy with my answer.

 _What is going on with her?_

"I have to go to the bathroom." Skirting away from her as quickly as I can I make my way across the bar to the bathroom. I don't actually have to go but I need to get away from her. She keeps trying to interrogate me and I don't want to do that tonight. Tonight is supposed to be happy, tonight is supposed to be about me celebrating my marriage and my future with Callie. It is **not** supposed to be about me dealing with Izzie and her issues. Entering the bathroom my thoughts are cut off as I'm met with a sight I never expected to see. Seeing people making out in a bathroom is something I got accustomed to in college but that didn't make it any less embarrassing. It takes a moment before I recognise the two people in front of me and when I do I find myself frozen to the spot.

Alex Karev and Mark Sloan.

Neither of the men have noticed me during their heated embrace which is the only saving grace right now.

"You're beautiful you know that?" Sloan's voice comes out far huskier than I've ever heard it and I can feel my face heating up.

"Shut up and kiss me." Although Alex whispers the words I hear them clearly echoed off of the tiles. Sloan leans back in and their kiss continues to heat up but I still can't move. It's only when Alex's hands slide up the back of his make out partners shirt that I find myself unfrozen and able to slip out of the room, thankfully unnoticed.

"You okay? You look a little flushed." My wife's words have my mind flashing back to the scene I just witnessed and I can feel my face getting hotter. _What the hell did I just walk in on?_

Neither men rejoin the celebration and despite wanting to ignore it I find myself wondering whether they've gone home together. Knowing Alex I wouldn't put it past him and Sloan's reputation speaks for itself.

Walking into work the next day I expect it to be full of awkward tension which of course it is but not in the way I expect it to be. I expected to be flustered since every time I look at either man their bathroom scene comes back to my head but I didn't expect them to be so calm. I figured after the two of them hooked up there would be some kind of awkwardness to say the least. It's when I see them later laughing and joking that the thought comes to my mind for the first time.

 _I wonder if that's the first time they've kissed?_

 **The second time I walk in on them I'm grateful that I didn't get here sooner.**

 _I hate drunk people!_

 _I hate drunk drivers!_

After the day I've had I can't help the anger that's built up in my body. Some stupid moron decided to get drunk out of his mind and drive himself home from a night out. Of course his trip didn't end well. Not only did the idiot plough head first into an oncoming car the truck behind him swerved to get out of the way and, long story short, a multi car pileup was the end result. 32 patients including him. 31 lives in complete disarray because of one drunken idiot who of course survived whilst 11 of those patients weren't as lucky.

Now that the crush of patients was over I finally realised just how tired I really was. I'd intended to go home and get some sleep two hours ago before I'd gotten dragged into helping with the last patient. Thankfully she'd made it through but I am officially exhausted. The crash means that we've all been here longer than we expected and my shift starts again in four hours. I could go home but that would take time and all I want to do it sleep. Callie's shift didn't end for another three hours so it's really pointless going home. Which is why I'm heading to the nearest on call room and hoping it's not already occupied.

Of course luck isn't with me and to my disappointment the bed already has someone sleeping in it. Sighing I turn to leave before realising that there are in fact two people sleeping in the bed. Realising what I've walked into I quickly spin around and make to leave but like I said, luck isn't with me. Completely forgetting the fact that there's a chair behind me I manage to walk straight into it and send it sprawling onto the floor.

"What the hell?" An all too familiar voice husks out. Sloan sits up slightly to face me and scowls, when he does I can feel my face heat up. Putting aside my hatred for the way I blush so easily I open my mouth intending to stutter out an apology when the second familiar voice catches my attention.

"Sloan?" Alex's voice is slurred by tiredness and something else I'd rather not think about.

"Go back to sleep." At the sound of Sloan's voice Alex dips back down onto the mattress and, thankfully, doesn't seem to notice me standing there staring. "Get out."

Finally snapping out of it I dart out of the room and shut the door with more force than I'm sure was needed. Shaking my head all of a sudden going home doesn't seem like such a bad plan.

 **The third time I walked in on them I'm not so lucky.**

"So she just kicked you out?" Nodding my head at Meredith's words I find myself losing the anger I had when I came over. I know that Callie hates me being so close to the girls but they're my family. She can't honestly just expect me to ditch them when they need me can she? Izzie needed my help so I went and helped her out. I don't get what the big deal is.

"Yep. You're sure it's okay for me to stay here tonight?" In the back of my mind I realise that it's probably not a good idea to stay here when Callie obviously has a problem with them. Truth be told I don't care tonight, in the morning I'll no doubt feel bad but right now I really don't care.

"You're welcome here any time you want." I can sense the undertone of her words but chose to ignore it for now. I know that none of the girls think that me getting married to Callie was a good idea and truth be told I'm starting to question that myself. Shaking my head I briefly consider going back home and working things out with my wife. Sensing that this is probably the worst idea right now I shake my head and trudge upstairs. "You left some of your things behind when you moved out, I put them in the spare room."

Looking at her in confusion she smiles before quickly reminding me about her new house mate.

"Alex moved into your room remember?" Something in my stomach clenches at the reminder that I no longer have a room here. Truth is when I moved out I never thought about the fact that I was giving this place up. Don't get me wrong I love living with Callie but I guess I just assumed that my room would always be here. Meredith had quickly decided that it wasn't right for Alex to live so far away, turns out his apartment was almost an hour away from the hospital, and had somehow convinced him to move in.

Trudging up the stairs and into the spare room I can feel my bad mood worsening. Shaking it off I climb into bed and attempt to forget about the awful day I've had. Of course it takes what feels like hours before I finally drift off to sleep only to be woken up minutes later. Initially I can't quite place why I've woken up but an uncomfortable pressing on my bladder reminds me. Sighing I hop out of bed and make my way to the bathroom.

Having relieved the pressure in my body I make my way back to my room. Of course with tiredness set into my bones I forget entirely about which room I'm going into. I've got to say walking in on two people for the third time is right around when things start getting a little weird. Now don't get me wrong it wasn't a picnic the first or the second time round either but this time it's so much worse. At least the first time all I saw was the two of them kissing (plus they didn't see me) and the second time whilst I know that they were doing way more than that I didn't see anything. This time however there's no holding back.

"Sorry!" I practically yell as soon as I open the door. Sloan quickly covers the two of them up but not before I've seen far more than I ever needed to.

"Get the hell out." Realising I've been standing and staring for way longer than was I really should have I quickly slam the door and shoot back down the hall way. As I head back into the spare room Alex's voice reaches my ears.

"What the hell O'Malley I'm starting to think you've got a problem!?" His voice is followed by a door slamming and I cringe as realisation dawns on me.

 _I just walked in on Alex and Sloan having sex._

Well if things weren't awkward before then they sure as hell will be now.

 **The fourth time I walk in on them is actually the next morning.**

Having not slept due to my argument with Callie and the sight I walked in on last night I can already feel how terrible a day this is going to be. Exhausted, angry and incredibly embarrassed I shuffle downstairs and wolf down a cup of coffee. Sometime around about halfway down coffee number two I find myself waking up at least a little. With my exhaustion fading somewhat my mood improves, of course this is only a temporary measure.

"Overheard your little incident last night. I did warn you that Alex was in your room." Staring incredulously at Meredith her words take a few seconds to register. When they finally do I find myself totally shocked.

"Wait you know that Alex and Sloan are…?" I leave the question open not quite sure how to finish it.

 _What exactly are they?_

"Do I know that they're sleeping together? Yeah. Alex has lived here for two months and Mark has spent more than one night here." With that she turns to the coffee pot and begins brewing a fresh batch, leaving me marvelling over her words. I figured I was the only one who knew about them but apparently it's common knowledge. If they've spent time together here then that means that Izzie and Cristina probably know about them too which means that the entire hospital is probably aware. Unless those two have managed to keep it to themselves, which I highly doubt, I wonder why I haven't heard anything about them at the hospital. That place is hardly known for letting gossip go.

"We're leaving in half an hour. Hurry up." Shaking off the confusion I instead focus on her words and head upstairs. A nice warm shower will work wonders on my current state. Grabbing a towel I dart past the first bathroom, having seen Cristina head in there moments before and head towards the second bathroom. Opening the door I'm met with a wall of steam and realise that Izzie is probably already in there. Sighing slightly I open my mouth to ask how long she'll be before something in the shower catches my eye.

There isn't one person in the shower there's two. Two people means only one thing. Thankfully, unlike last night, my mind and my body are on the same wave length and I dart out of the bathroom as quick as possible. Hopefully neither of them noticed my presence. Their shared shower makes me ten minutes late and I can't help cursing them both, despite the fact that Alex lives here and I don't. With my mood firmly back to the frustrated nightmare it was earlier I fly downstairs with enough time to see the dark glares I'm receiving from the girls.

"When Bailey corners us for being late we're throwing you under the bus." Cristina snarks as we make our way to the car. I open my mouth to blame the situation on Alex but think better off it when the angry woman all but shoves me into the backseat.

As I sit down an age later to finally grab some lunch I finally feel some sense of normalcy coming back to me. With food in my stomach and a compliment from Bailey this morning under my belt I'm actually feeling better than I had when I arrived. All I need to do now it to sort things out with Callie and life will be back to normal. Just as my mood brightens a familiar voice speaks in my ear.

"You know either you've got radar, you're stalking us or you're just **that** unlucky." Alex's frustrated words as he sits down remind me that I wasn't so lucky this morning. Feeling the blush covering my cheeks I'm unable to face him as we eat our lunch.

 _I really am just_ _ **that**_ _unlucky._

 **The fifth time is not like the others.**

Heading towards the on call room my mood has fallen so far it's untrue. For a while it really looked like everything was going to be fine. Things between me and Callie were improving and our married life was getting back on track. She was finally accepting the girls as being part of my family whilst the girls were finally accepting that Callie was my wife and that she wasn't going anywhere. A good patch at work meant that I had gotten into three awesome surgeries as well as being on some pretty good cases. On top of all of that it's been five weeks since I last walked in on Alex and his little bed buddy. Trust me out of all of the above that's the one I think we're all grateful for. Things were going fine.

Then naturally I managed to screw it all up.

 _I slept with Izzie._

 _I cheated on my wife._

I'm such an idiot. After everything that Callie's said and how hard we've worked to get to where we are I went and cheated on her. Not only that but I cheated on her with the one person who she thinks has feelings for me (something which I know now to be true). Callie's great. She's smart, she's funny, she loves me and she's beautiful. What the hell is wrong with me? Why am I such a complete moron? She's my wife and I cheated on her.

 _I cheated on her._

 _I cheated on my wife._

 _I cheated on my wife with my best friend._

Heading towards the on call room I can't help but sigh. I'm not tired but I do need some time to myself. I just need a few minutes of peace, calm and quiet to think through everything in my head. For the first time all night I've gotten two minutes to myself and I really need to take advantage of that.

Naturally I've got zero amount of luck and find this on call room is occupied as well. Unlike the other three that I've been to I can hear talking from in here. Angry, wound up and not in the mood I open the door completely intent on telling whomever it is to go and have their conversation elsewhere but the sight I see stops me in my tracks.

Sitting on the bed in front of me is the two people I'd hope never to walk in on again. Unlike the other times I've walked in on them there's no kissing or other stuff going on today. The tears in Alex's eyes combined with the grip he has on Sloan quickly tell me that I **really** shouldn't have interrupted. As soon as he catches sight of me standing in the doorway the heartbroken look on Alex's face disappears and he shoots out of the room practically shoving me over as he goes.

"You really know how to pick your moments don't you?" From the tone of his voice I can tell that Sloans not in the mood for me to speak right now. As he heads out of the door he turns back to me for a second. "Here's an idea O'Malley. In future knock on the damn door!"

With an angry glare he storms down the corridor that Alex just booked it down and apparently the rest of the corridor senses his frustration as they part like the red sea.

I learn later from various sources that both Alex and Sloan were attempting to save a three year old who had gotten hit by a car. The two were unable to save her and judging from the list of injuries she had they didn't stand a chance no matter how hard they worked on her. Unfortunately for Alex his god awful day didn't end there. Not only did he deal with losing a little girl but the same afternoon he'd ended up working on a ten year old boy who'd collapsed at school. Much like the other unfortunate child the little boy didn't stand a chance having suffered a fatal brain aneurism and had been dead before they'd opened him up. Losing patients was inevitable and it was really just Alex's horrible luck that he'd been involved with both of them. Losing a patient was hell, losing a child was a nightmare but losing two on the same day? Now that was unbearable.

As soon as I'd found out what he'd been through the situation in the on call room made sense to me. Alex was understandably struggling to deal with the crappy day he'd been handed and Mark was comforting him. Guilt poured through me when I realised just what I'd interrupted.

 _Good going George! You really are determined to screw everything up._

 **And the one time I didn't walk in on them.**

Something within me settles as I finish cleaning up from the appendectomy. So maybe it's not the most exciting of surgeries but I think it's exactly what I needed after the horror show that my life has become. Eventually my guilt over sleeping with Izzie had gotten to be too much and I'd had to tell Callie the truth. Of course she'd reacted exactly like I thought that she would. It's bad enough that I cheated on her but I did it with the one person she's spent months warning me about. Truth be told I don't know which she's angrier about the fact that I cheated on her or that I cheated on her with Izzie.

"George." Cristina's voice sounds strange to my ears.

"Hey." Quite what she wants I don't know but I really don't need her reminding me that I completely screwed up. Believe me I know that.

"Alex is in surgery." _Of course he is. No doubt he got something awesome and exciting. That's great, just great._

"Perfect. So what did he luck out on?" As I turn to face her I can see the hard line her features are set in. Sensing that something is clearly wrong I wait for her to explain before saying anything else.

"Alex isn't the surgeon he's the one on the table." What? What the hell is she talking about? "He was in the pit and something happened, something went wrong and…he was stabbed. It's bad George."

My body moves before my minds caught up and within seconds I've followed Cristina to the gallery where Meredith and Izzie are already sitting. Meredith is as pale as a ghost and there's blood on her top and something tells me that I don't want to know how it got there. There are obvious tears in Izzie's eyes and from the wet tracks on her cheeks she's shed her fair share of them already. There's no love lost between Izzie and Alex of course but he's still her friend, she still cares. Cristina stands by the window her keen eyes watching every move that Bailey makes. Meredith and Izzie sit hand in hand waiting with bated breath for news.

All of a sudden my bad week doesn't seem like it matters quite that much.

For what feels like years we sit there watching every single movement in that room. Alex is one of us and there is no way we can lose him. There's no way we'd survive that. People come in and people go but none of us move. At one point the chief enters, no doubt to tell us to get back to work when Meredith speaks up at last.

"He saved my life." Whatever words the Chief had planned on saying died in his throat as she speaks. Taking a deep breath she continued. "We were in the pit and this guy was freaking out. I was trying to stitch his arm but then all of a sudden he had a knife and…and then Alex was there. He was there he…he pushed me out of the way. It should…It should have been me."

There are no tears but the way that her voice shakes tells me that she's barely holding it together. Tears are once again making their way down Izzie's cheeks and Cristina's hands are balled up so tight that it's a wonder she doesn't break something. Shaking my head I try and focus on the scene in front of me when a thought comes to mind.

"Does Sloan know?" My words don't register with Izzie but Cristina and Meredith both share an understanding look.

"He's in surgery. Won't be done for a while." Cristina says when it becomes obvious that Meredith isn't willing, or able, to speak again. Judging from the questioning look Izzie sends my way she doesn't know about the two of them but she lets her questions go for now. Right now there are more important things to be thinking about.

Finally, after what feels like years, the surgery is over and Bailey sends a shaky nod up towards where she knows we are all camped out. As soon as we catch her nod the silence that had descended over the room evaporates and it's as if someone has opened up a tap. Meredith falls apart the moment she knows that Alex is safe and as soon as she does the tears cascade again from Izzie's eyes. Cristina takes a seat next to her best friend doing her best to comfort her, doing her best to be there for her. For a minute I'm at a loss of how to help before my previous question comes to mind.

 _Does Sloan know?_

"I'm going to head and see if I can find Dr Sloan." Cristina manages a nod at my words before her attention is back on her best friend who is continuing to fall apart in her arms. As much as I want to be there for them right now I have a feeling that this is more important.

Knowing he's in surgery it doesn't take long to track him down, thankfully I only have to hang around for a few minutes before it's over and he's on his way out. The eye roll he gives me as he sees me hanging around would be comical if it weren't for the fact that my friend is fighting for his life.

"Dr Sloan. Dr Sloan!" Raising my voice he stops walking away and turns to face me. "This is important it's about Alex."

"You know what I'm starting to think that he might be right, you really are stalking us." Again it would be funny but for the whole fighting for his life thing.

"He's in surgery." Whatever he'd planned on saying is cut short as he catches the seriousness of my words. "There was an incident in the pit and he was stabbed."

The way he pales and goes completely still halts any questions I might have had about their feelings for each other. For a while I thought this was just about sex but from the way that Mark just reacted I know deep down there's more to it than that. Of all the people in this hospital those are the two that I'd never have pegged being together. Shaking my head I force that thought out of my mind and focus on the most important part.

"Where is he?" He sounds far from the confident self-assured arrogant plastic surgeon that I've gotten used to.

"Bailey operated on him." If at all possible he goes even paler at the mention of surgery and he grabs hold of the wall to steady himself. "He's through surgery but I thought I should tell you since you two are…" I trail off not quite knowing what I should be calling them. Before I can even so much as breathe he's moved past me and is half way down the corridor when my brain finally kicks into gear.

I take a few minutes to steady myself before I head back in the room where Bailey has just finished updating the others on Alex's condition.

"He's stable but still critical." Izzie sniffs out as she dries her eyes. Her eyes dart over to where Sloan is interrogating Bailey but again she says nothing. Whatever questions she's having are best left for later.

Four days pass before Alex is officially declared as being out of immediate danger and it feels like the whole hospital breathes a sigh of relief. Whilst many people may not consider him to be a friend when it comes to this place attacks against one person are considered an attack on everyone. As I walk in on the eighth day Bailey greets us with the news that Alex has not only gained consciousness (having been kept on a respirator thanks to the damage the knife did to his left lung) but is also improving rapidly.

The girls all drop in on Alex throughout the morning. Meredith had thanked him for saving her life which he had apparently forgotten all about until she mentioned it. Cristina asked to see him scar and then flipped him off when he said no. No doubt some people would find it insensitive but that's just her, she used the scar as an excuse to go and make sure that he was okay. Izzie had dropped in on him and promptly apologised for anything rude she'd ever said to him. In the chaos of everything that has happened I've forgotten all about the awkwardness that had settled between us but now that things are getting better it's come back full force.

Shaking my head I make my way over to where Alex's room fully intent on going in and making sure that he's okay when I catch sight of the occupants of the room. For a moment I hesitate and their conversation reaches my ears.

"I can't believe that I almost lost you." Sloan sounds so heartbroken that my own heart clenches as I listen to him. "You can't do that to me again not now that I've finally got you."

"Wasn't intentional." Alex's voice comes out barely above a whisper and I have to strain to catch the words.

"Guess I can't be too mad given that you saved Grey's life." Sloan shifts slightly and I catch sight of the hands that are clasped tightly together. His other hand is stroking down Alex's cheek and the moment is so intimate that I actually realise for the first time that there is so much more here than just sex.

 _They're a couple._

It shouldn't have taken so long for me to see it but it finally hits me. They're not just using each other for sex they're in love, they're together. Now that I see it right in front of me it seems so obvious that I don't understand how I didn't see it earlier.

"Get some sleep, I'll come back later and check on you." As Sloan leans over and places a light kiss on his boyfriends lips my body unfreezes and I slip away from the door unnoticed.

 **Okay wow! That ended up being longer than I had anticipated it being but I've got to say that I'm impressed by it. Whilst I've delved into Mark and Alex's friendship in my other fic Life for a life this is my first attempt at writing them in a romantic situation. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.**

 **Until next time,**

 **Bye Bye x**


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay so this has been floating around my head since I wrote five times and I finally got it down on paper (computer screen). Anyway this is Mark's point of view of how he and Alex became the wonderful couple I made them into.**

 **Summary: Later on when asked how it started Mark tells them that 'it just happened'. But the truth is…**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

* * *

 **Chapter Two**

 **By Rosa241**

The first time it happens we're both drunk of our asses and to be perfectly honest Karev could have been anyone. It'd been three months since I'd last gotten laid, my longest dry spell in years, and another bad night with the ladies at Joe's showed me that this spell was set to continue. Then I'd bumped into Karev – quite literally in fact! After the third woman had stormed away from me I'd turned around and walked straight into the younger doctor spilling both drinks he was carrying straight down the front of him. Feeling kind of bad (and kind of drunk) I'd headed to the bathroom determined to help him clean up. It wasn't until I entered the bathroom that my intentions changed.

Having removed his shirt to dry off I realised right then that I've never actually looked at him properly before. Of course anybody would be willing to concede that he's attractive, let's face it you'd have to be dead not to notice, but seeing him like this sets something alight within me. Somewhere in my drunken mind 'helping Karev clean up' became pressing him against the wall and kissing him thoroughly. The kids surprise lasted only a few seconds before I felt him responding and his arms were wrapped around my neck. Neither of us can recall how we'd gotten from the bar back to my apartment but we had and our night together was firmly stamped in my memory. Truth be told I've been with guys before back in college, as had Karev I later found out, but since then I've focused solely on women. There was nothing wrong with guys but you know…boobs!

The following morning I'd momentarily dreaded the younger man's reaction when he'd woken up, however upon seeing the look on my face he'd scoffed before stating:

"What? You're acting like you've never had a one night stand before."

Those words settled the panic coiling in my stomach. Contrary to what most people would expect of us we didn't just keep jumping into bed together from that moment on. Two weeks later an argument over a patient, one that I cannot remember now, had almost resulted in us both coming to blows. A timely intervention from Derek had put a stop to that thankfully. After getting firmly put back in our places by the chief we'd both stalked off in separate directions. That's not where the tension had stopped mind. No for another ten days the tension between us continued to build to the point where neither of us dare say a word in the others company for fear of starting a riot. It's only when leaving the hospital on day ten that Bailey cornered me and proved exactly why everyone's afraid of her. Her exact words have been lost now but it consisted of something like 'get your freaking act together' although not nearly as polite.

Thinking on it later that night I almost hit the floor when I realised exactly why there was so much tension. It wasn't because he disagreed with me like Meredith thinks, it's not because he was right like Derek thinks (even though that is kind of true) no this is something else.

Sexual tension.

The tension has been building ever since our night together and now I know why. Naturally I don't do anything about it for several more days until the tension is so thick you could cut it with a knife. Accepting that the tension isn't going anywhere I follow him into the on call room and press him up against the wall.

He doesn't hesitate to respond to my kiss with equal passion and energy. Weeks of culminating tension explode and things progress before I can even think about what's happening. It's only later when we're both lay on the bed completely exhausted that what we've done hits me.

 _Okay so he's gone from acquaintance, to sort of friend, to one night stand to…what the hell are we now?_

 _Boyfriend?_ Even thinking the word doesn't feel right. We've slept together twice now but that doesn't mean that the two of you are dating. I turn my attention to the younger man, intending to ask him what the hell is going on, when I realise he is already starting to drift off. Shaking my head I decide that maybe I can deal with this after I've slept because lets face it Karev isn't looking to move any time soon.

A loud bang awakens me from my brief slumber and for a moment I can't quite place what it was.

"What the hell?" The light by the door has me facing it and I see exactly what woke me up.

 _O'Malley._

 _Crap._

When it looks like he has no intentions of leaving I open my mouth to tell him to do just that when Karev shifts beside me.

"Sloan?" _Okay if O'Malley didn't know who was in here before he does now._ Sighing I quickly usher him back to sleep, quite why I want him to sleep is beyond me. Maybe it's because I don't want him catching sight of our observer. Maybe it's because he's had dark circles around his eyes for days and looks like he could use the sleep. Or maybe it's because his warmth at my side had actually felt quite nice and I wasn't looking to let that go anytime soon.

"Get out." My words finally snap O'Malley out of whatever daze he's currently in and he darts out of the room like it's on fire.

From then on the two of us come to some kind of unspoken agreement, a sort of friends with benefits situation so to speak. It's something that isn't discussed among us and I choose to deny the spark within me when we're together. Of course it's just sex nothing more. I don't have time for anything more and I definitely don't want anything more. Friends with benefits is about **all** I'm willing or ready to deal with right now.

Sometime between the fourth and fifth time the two of us sleep together he's moved in with Meredith. As much as him moving in with them causes problems for our…situation, truth be told I know that it's a good deal for him. We've spent one of our nights together at his apartment and it was a nightmare to get to. He lived too far away from the hospital for any reasonable person but the rent closer to the hospital is higher. Although despite being an intern he should be able to afford a place closer. Part of me wonders why he's never moved before now but that's not the kind of thing you discuss with someone unless you're in a relationship.

Of course it would have been a smarter idea to keep going to my apartment but when I'm with him where we end up isn't really the most pressing matter. The first time I stay over after he moves in I'd managed to leave earlier without anyone knowing that I was there. As I leave I ignore the pang that goes through me at the disappointed look he shoots my way. The second time I stay over I don't leave early, telling myself that it's down to the extra sleep I'll get, and ignoring the smile he gives me when he wakes up to find me still there.

It's inevitable really that people would find out about the two of us – not that there's anything to find out about of course. It's not like there's anything between us. To be honest I'm surprised people haven't worked it out sooner since O'Malley had walked in on us but apparently he knows how to keep his mouth shut. Having bumped into Cristina when leaving one morning it's no surprise when Meredith corners me and questions me on everything. Her face falls when I brush her off, telling her that it's just sex, and for some reason I feel guilty about blowing Karev off that night.

 _It's just sex._

I tell myself and brush the guilt to one side. Something sparks within me when I think the words but I chose to ignore it.

Somewhere between the seventh and eighth time we sleep together he stops being Karev and starts being Alex. It's about this time that I begin to wonder whether I should call this thing between us off. Selfishly I don't, instead choosing to ignore the warmth that goes through me whenever I catch his eyes or the way that his eyes light up when I smile at him. I choose to ignore the fact that our nights together have become less about sex and more about the two of us being together. I brush all of this off and allow our situation to continue. Truth is I don't think I could stop it even if I tried to.

For the next few weeks I manage to ignore the feelings that have been building up inside of me. I ignore the stares that Meredith has been shooting my way, I ignore the fact that O'Malley has managed to walk in on us not once, but twice! Seriously what is wrong with that man! Does he never think about knocking before he enters a room?

Naturally I can't ignore what's going on between us forever and everything comes to a head.

That poor girl.

By complete chance both myself and Alex had wound up taking care of Sarah, a three year old girl we are both determined to keep alive. For a little while it looked like we were going to do just that but unfortunately there was always the chance that we'd find out that the internal damage from the crash was worse than anticipated once we opened her up. That poor little girl died on the table and we'd spoken to the heartbroken parents together. Alex had disappeared shortly afterwards and by complete chance I came across him in an on call room three hours later. It took one glance at the devastated look in his eyes to know that leaving him right now was not an option. Loosing patients never got any easier but loosing kids was the worst. Losing two kids in one day?

It turns out that shortly after having spoken to Sarah's heartbroken parents he'd been dragged into another child's care. The ten year old boy had collapsed in school and judging from what I later learn from Derek he was dead before they opened him up. He trembles the entire time I'm with him and none of my whispered words make a difference to his devastation.

"You couldn't have saved them. There is nothing you could have done." He shakes his head at the words and wipes his eyes once again. My entire body calls out to him and I pull him into my arms where he buries his face into my shoulder. For a few minutes he doesn't make any attempt to move and his body finally feels like it's starting to relax. Eventually he pulls away and I choose not to make comment about the fact that his cheeks are stained with wet tracks. His eyes are still full of tears but no more are falling.

"This isn't fair." I can't help agreeing with him because this is never fair. They're kids. They should still be here, they should be running round, their parents should be tucking them in at night and reading them stories not planning their funerals. Just as I open my mouth to attempt to comfort him some more the door swings open.

Alex takes one look at O'Malley before he's out of the room faster than I can even blink. I don't have to be his boyfriend to know that he hates showing weakness to anybody.

 _He showed it to you._ My mind supplies helpfully as I glare at the younger doctor in front of me.

"You really know how to pick your moments don't you? Here's an idea O'Malley. In future knock on the damn door!" As I storm out of the room I attempt to track down Alex only to find out from Bailey that she insisted he went home. His shift had long since been over and he wasn't in the right frame of mind to be staying in the hospital any longer. The rest of my shift passes as slow as is physically possible and my mind drifts more than once to the younger doctor and his whereabouts.

Getting home later from the longest day in history relief flashes through my chest when I catch sight of the tired man sitting outside my door. He makes no apologies for his presence and I don't even try to mask my relief in seeing him. In bed later that night I realise that this is the first time since we've begun our friends with benefits routine that we haven't ended up sleeping together. Lying together with him curled up beside me something about the whole situation feels right. The warmth of his body and the feeling of his head on my chest just feels like it's meant to be. Pulling him closer I can't help smiling as he sighs happily, eventually I close my eyes but not before vowing to talk to him about this.

I can't ignore the feelings within me anymore.

Of course thinking about telling him and actually telling him prove to be two complete different things. Finding a way to tell him that I have developed feelings for him is proving to be more of a challenge than it should. It's not like I haven't had the chance so far from it. Since that night at my apartment we've spent most of our nights together and everything between us has changed. Truth be told there was a perfect moment last night when I should have told him everything.

"Wait so Stevens and O'Malley slept together?" Why the hell didn't Callie tell me?

"Yep. O'Malley told Torres about it and she kicked him out. Yeah apparently Torres has been worried about Izzie since before they got married so sleeping with her was definitely not a good idea." How the hell could he do that to Callie? She's the best thing that ever happened to him and I have no doubt in my mind he'll never get a girl as good as her.

"Wait are you saying that Stevens has feelings for O'Malley?" He shrugs his shoulders at my question and I make a mental note to speak to Callie tomorrow. She's not just a girl I slept with once Callie is a friend and she just found out that her husband has been cheating on her. I'm willing to bet she needs a friend right now.

"This marriage was doomed from the start." He says through a mouthful of pizza.

"What do you mean? Callie loves George and he loves her, or I thought he did."

"Dude they took off to Vegas and got hitched without any warning. You can't run off to Vegas and jump into a marriage and expect it to actually work. I mean they didn't even live in the same apartment when they got married. She was living in a hotel and he was living at Merediths." Okay maybe he's got a point they did kind of rush into this. "I mean isn't there a process to go through for people. You date, you move in together, you get engaged, get married then you have kids. You start skipping steps you're asking for trouble."

For a moment I find myself stopping as shock comes over me. Okay so I never really thought about it too much since Callie assured me that she was perfectly happy with everything but he's completely right. The two of them skipped over the most important parts about being in a relationship, the development into something more.

"So does that mean we're asking for trouble? I mean aren't we skipping steps?" I could kick myself for the words I've just let loose. What the hell was I thinking?

"No. We're not dating so we can't be skipping steps." He doesn't look at me when he speaks and there's a nervous lilt to his voice.

"Yeah but there are rules for dating right?" This time he goes look at me and for a moment I think I see something resembling hope in his face.

 _Does he want this too?_

"Look Alex-" Whatever was going to come out of my mouth is cut off as my phone rings. Groaning as the caller ID flashes up Callie I almost want to curse the woman for her timing. Shaking off those thoughts I answer the phone knowing full well that my plans for the night have been basically taken over. Taking another bite of his pizza Alex gives me a sympathetic look.

Sometime during the breast reduction surgery, something I personally deem to be a crying shame, something clicks within my mind. What the hell am I being such a baby for? Why is this causing so much trouble for me? I have feelings for Alex and he **has** to have feelings for me as well. After our conversation last night I have no doubt about his feelings but even without that there's no way that he'd have stuck around for so long if he didn't feel something. Part of me has been hesitant to tell him for fear of what he might say or what he might do but I can't, I won't let that stop me anymore. For the first time in so long I've actually got a chance to be with someone I care about, someone I really care about and I'm not passing that up through fear.

Heading down the hallway I try my best to attempt to avoid O'Malley. The last thing I want to do is to have any kind of discussion with him about my current situation with Alex. There's only one person I want to talk to about this and that's the man himself. Unfortunately it would seem as though our resident cheater has other plans.

"Dr Sloan. Dr Sloan!" Rolling my eyes at the younger man I make to walk away from him when he calls out again. "This is important it's about Alex."

"You know what I'm starting to think he might be right, you really are stalking us."

"He's in surgery." _Why would he track me down to tell me Alex is in surgery…unless…_ Crap! "There was an incident in the pit and he was stabbed."

I can feel my whole body go still at his words. He's been stabbed? Alex was stabbed! All the unsaid words go through me in a heartbeat and if I wasn't sure before that I wanted more with him that I was now. He's more than a friend. I care about him. I care about him a lot!

"Where is he?" It takes longer to get the words out than it should but my mouth has gone completely dry.

"Bailey operated on him." Operated? _Oh my god._ "He's through surgery but I thought I should tell you since you two are…" He trails off and I don't give him chance to speak again. Taking off I make it to the end of the corridor before realising I have no idea which OR they are in and force myself to wait for O'Malley to catch up.

"Bailey!" She doesn't seem all that surprised to see me walk into the room. "What the hell happened?" With a sigh she steps forward.

"He was stabbed in the lower right abdomen. There was some internal bleeding, a lot of internal bleeding, but we got it. He's stable right now but the next 48 hours are critical." She continues rattling off the facts and figures but I've tuned out. _Internal bleeding? Critical?_ I could have lost him. I could have lost him and I wouldn't have gotten the chance to tell him.

Four long horrible days pass before Alex is declared out of immediate danger. As soon as those words pass Bailey's lips my entire body sags. I'm not going to lose him yet. It takes another four days before he regains consciousness. It takes another few hours before I get to see him since I'm stuck in surgery but as soon as I do my body sags with pure relief as I catch sight of those tired but gorgeous eyes.

"Hey." He croaks out, his voice tired from not being used for so long.

"Hey." For a moment an air of awkwardness passes between us but it only lasts for a beat. Dropping to his side a breath passes my lips. "I can't believe I almost lost you. You can't do that to me again not now that I've finally got you."

"Wasn't intentional." Taking his left hand in mine I raise my other hand to stroke his cheek.

"Guess I can't be too mad given that you saved Grey's life." He was a hero, a hero who I had no intentions of letting go any time soon. For a moment I simply sit there taking in the fact that he's still with me but eventually I'm forced to take in the fact that he's fighting to keep his eyes open.

"Get some sleep, I'll come back later and check on you." As much as I want to sit here and keep watch over him I've got to work. Leaning over I place a light kiss on his lips before his eyes slowly slide shut.

* * *

 **Yay! It's done. Okay so I didn't intend on writing another part to this piece but this wouldn't leave me alone.**

 **Bye x**


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